In December 2017, Martins took a leave of absence from the New York City Ballet following an allegation of sexual misconduct made against him.[2][3] Five City Ballet dancers later told the New York Times that Martins had verbally or physical abused them; Martins denied engaging in any misconduct.[4][5] Martins retired from the City Ballet on January 1, 2018.[5] A subsequent joint inquiry commissioned by the City Ballet and its School of American Ballet "did not corroborate the allegations of harassment or violence" made against Martins.[6]

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Martins was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark.[7] His parents were Børge Martins, an engineer, and Tove Christa Ornberg, a pianist.[7] His maternal aunt and uncle, Leif and Elna Ornberg, members of the Royal Danish Ballet, started teaching him ballroom combinations when he was five years of age; when he applied to ballet school, however, he was the subject of discrimination because his aunt and uncle had been Nazi sympathizers.[7]

Martins left Denmark in 1970 and became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet (NYCB), though he had been performing as a guest artist since 1967.[9] Martins danced a wide variety of roles, but is most known for the titular role in Apollo and the Cavalier in Balanchine's Nutcracker. He danced frequently with Suzanne Farrell. However, he terminated her employment with the NYCB in 1993; she went on to found her own company, which disbanded in 2017.[10][11]

Martins retired from dancing in 1983, becoming Co-Ballet Master-In-Chief alongside Jerome Robbins,[12] and assumed the job of sole Balletmaster-in-Chief in 1990. Martins was Balanchine's personal choice of successor. However, early in his career as balletmaster, Martins faced criticism for perceived deviations from Balanchine's style.[13] Martins also served as the artistic director and chairman of faculty of the School of American Ballet, the training division of the NYCB and the venue through which it receives most of its dancers.[14] From 1990 until January 2018, he was solely responsible for artistic leadership of City Ballet.[14] He was the subject of the 1991 documentary Peter Martins: A Dancer. In 2005 his salary was $619,000, and in 2008 he received $699,000 in pay and benefits.[15][16]

In December 2017, an ongoing investigation was announced by New York City Ballet into accusations by dancers within the company of physical and sexual assault by Martin, and using his power to obtain sexual favors, dating back to 1983.[19] One of his accusers, Wilhelmina Frankfurt, a former New York City Ballet ballerina and later a dance educator, said: "Am I a victim of Martins abuse? Yes. Was it sexual? Yes. Was it consensual? No [...] It was scary. One incident that occurred [...] He [...] pulled me into his dressing room and, exposed himself to me. [And one incident is] so big I don’t think I can talk about it."[20]

Martins took a leave of absence that month from both the New York City Ballet and its School of the American Ballet, after the allegations came to light, and in January 2018 he retired.[21] Martins denied any misconduct.[22] A two-month investigation of the New York City Ballet and its School of the American Ballet "did not corroborate the allegations of harassment or violence both made in the anonymous letter and reported in the media regarding Mr. Martins".[6] This was not a criminal investigation and was conducted by NYCB, Inc.'s own attorneys.

He received a Dance Magazine Award[23] and Cue's Golden Apple Award in 1977. An Award for Arts and Culture, City of New York, 1981. The title of Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1983. An award of Merit, Philadelphia Art Alliance, 1985. And a Liberty Award, 1986. He was nominated for the 1986 Tony Award for Best Choreographer for Song & Dance. Martins is a champion of contemporary music, working often with composer John Adams. His autobiography, Far From Denmark was published in 1982. Martins was named Man of the Year by the Danish American Society, 1980. His exercise regimen, titled NYCB Workout and designed with the New York Sports Club, first appeared in book form in 1997, with a DVD and a sequel produced later. Martins was inducted into the National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame in 2008.[24]

Martins had a longterm romantic relationship with Heather Watts during her career as a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.[25]John Clifford, a principal dancer and choreographer under George Balanchine, recalled "I saw him pick her up and slam her into a cement wall."[25] In ballerina Gelsey Kirkland's book Dancing on My Grave (1986), she describes Martins dragging Watts up and down a flight of stairs.[26]

In July 1992, Martins was arrested and held for five hours after his 28-year-old wife of seven months, New York City Ballet principal ballerina Darci Kistler, phoned the police for help. His wife filed an affidavit accusing him of assaulting her, pushing and slapping her, and cutting and bruising her arms and legs and continuing to hit her after she fell under his attack.[27][28][29] He was charged with third-degree assault (a misdemeanor).[29][30][27] Kistler dropped the charges a few days later, saying she preferred to resolve the matter without the court's intervention.[29][27][31] When she next performed in a ballet two days later, she reportedly wore heavy makeup to conceal bruises she had suffered.[29] Several people who knew the two well claimed it wasn't the first time Martins had hit her.[32] Peter Wolff, a member of the school’s board of directors, said that the assault charge was "a personal matter", would not affect Martins’ career, and that it had "nothing to do with his competency or his support in the ballet community."[28]